Splitting machine



Jan. 21, 1930. M. LIRON SPLITTING MACHINE Filed April 6, 192a INVENTOR Patented Jan. 21, 1930 UNrrso s rains Parent OFFICE MAURICE LIRON, F ILLAU, FRANoE, ASSIGNOR To THE TURNER TANNING MA- oHINERY coMPANY, or PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION or MAINE sr ITTING MACHINE Application filed. April 6, 1928, Serial No. 268,010, and in France hpril 20, 1927.

This invention relates to splitting machines and is illustrated as embodied in a machine for splitting hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work. It is to be understood, however, that the invention and various important features thereof may have other applications and uses.

As heretofore constructed, splitting machines for operating on hides, skins and leather have commonly comprised a cutter movable along a path transverse to the direction of movement of a piece of work being fed to the cutter, and feeding means for the work comprising a lower feed roll and an upper feed roll. The lower feed roll has usually been constructed of ring sections arranged to yield to accommodate local variations in the thickness of the work. Such a feed roll, therefore, is commonly termed a ring roll and is held against undesirable displacement by a ring jaw plate. A The upper feed roll of such a machine is ordinarily termed a gage roll since it is fixed in adjusted position and serves to determine the thickness of the split portion of the work above the cutter. While it has heretofore been possible to split hides, skins, and pieces of leather into relatively thin layers, commonly termed splits, substantially coextensive in surface area with the piece of work, a great deal has depended upon the condition of the work and of the machine and upon the skill and care of the operator. When, for example, a hide or skin is fed to the cutter of a splitting machine of the type referred to with the grain side up anda very thin split is taken from the grain side, there is a marked tendency for the thin grain split 'to stick to the gage roll. Thissticking of the grain split to the gage roll may'at times result in damage to the split and jamming of the gage roll through entrance of portions of the grain split between the gage roll and one of its supporting cover plates. If the hide or skin be presented to the machine with the grain side down While attempting to take off a very thin grain split, then the lat ter will sometimes adhere to the ring roll with consequences comparable in every respect to those described with reference to the sticking of splits to the gage roll.

It is an object of this invention to provide a splitting machine of simple and durable construction and of such effectiveness in the splitting off of the thinnest layers desired from pieces of work as to obviate the disadvantages above mentioned without requiring more than ordinary skill and attention on the part of the operator of the machine.

To these ends and in accordance with an important feature of the invention, means is provided in the illustrated machine for preventing a thin split from adhering to work feeding means during a splitting operation in which a piece of work is fed to a cutter by the feeding means, thus enabling the opera tor to take very thin splits from pieces of work without difficulty and without exercising unusual care in the manipulation of the work. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, means is provided for projecting fluid under pressure tangentially with respect to and against either the lower of two feed rolls to lift the split away from the lower feed roll if the thin split be below the cutter, or against the upper feed roll to force the split downwardly away from that feed roll if the thin split be above the cutter. Gonven iently, and as illustrated, a non-adhesive liquid such as water is the fluid employed to effect a stripping action by which the thin split is separated from the upper or lower feed roll as the case may be, the water being sprayed tangentially to the feed rolls. If the thin split be below the cutter the jets or sprays of water serve to float the thin split away from the lower feed roll. If the thin split be above the cutter the sprays 0r jets of water serve to force the thin split downwardly away from the upper feed roll. 1As illustra ed, a perf rated pipe either indel i tangentially to and along the whole length of pendent of the ring jaw plate or partly or Wholly integral therewith is arranged to extend the full width of the machine to spray water tangentially to and upon the ring roll and similar provision for spraying water the upper feed roll or gage roll upon that side of the roll adjacent to the cutter.

These and other features of the invention, including various details of construction and combinations of parts will now be more particularly described by reference to the accompanying drawings and thereafter pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a splitting machine taken at a right angle to the feed rolls of the machine and showing only the essential elements thereof;

Fig. 2 is a more or less diagrammatic representation in perspective of the lower feed roll or ring roll together with the ring jaw plate, the latter embodying a spraying device; and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating a different embodiment of the invention.

The illustrated splitting machine, which is adapted especially for the splitting of hides, skins and pieces of leather, is of the type set forth in United States Letters Patent No. 626,858, granted June 13, 1899, upon application of Amory A. Chilson, to which Letters Patent reference may be had for illustration and description of parts not fully shown and described herein.

In the illustrated machine there is provided a table 10 over which a piece of work may be shoved by the operator until it is engaged by an upper feed roll 12 and a lower feed roll 14. The upper feed roll 12 is held fixedly in adjusted position and is commonly referred to as the gage roll. For holding the gage roll 12 from lateral bending or displacement there is provided a pair of cover plates 13 having smooth end faces adapted to engage the gage roll on each side thereof along substantially its entire length, a backing roll 15 being also provided to prevent upward bending of the gage roll under pressure of the work. The lower feed roll 14 is of the type comprising a plurality of ring members 16 (Fig. 2) and hence is usually known as the ring roll. As illustrated, the ring members 16 rest upon a rubber covered roll 18, the rubber covering of the rollbeing sufiiciently elastic to permit the ring members 16 to yield when thick portions in the hide or skin pass between the upper fixed roll 12 and the ring roll 14. While the ring roll 14 may be driven through frictional contact with the rubber covered roll 18, both are preferably power driven, as by means such as are illustrated and described in said Letters Patent, so as to insure proper feeding of the work in cooperation with the power driven gage roll 12.

Since the ring members 16 are movable on a shaft 20 within the ring members in directions transverse to the shaft, it is necessary, in. order to afford proper support for the work, to restrict the movements of the ring members 16 to a substantially vertical movement and this is accomplished by providing a ring jaw plate 22 which has a face 24 for engagement with the ring members 16 to limit the movement of the ring members away from a curved guiding face on edge portion 26 of the table 10.

As a piece of work is fed by the feed rolls 12 and 14 it is operated upon by a cutting tool or cutter 30 in the form of an endless belt knife, the cutter 30 being held to its work by upper and lower guiding members 32, 34 carried by jaw plates 36, 38 respectively.

In the operation of the machine, as thus far disclosed, a piece of work fed by the feed rolls 12, 14 to the cutter 30, will be split into two substantially co-extensive layers or splits, the thickness of the upper split being determined by adjustment of the upper feed or gage roll 12 with respect to the plane of the cutting edge of the cutter 30. If, for instance, a thin split is to be taken from the grain side of a hideor skin or other piece of leather, the piece of work is fed with its grain side up and the gage roll 12 is adjusted to the required distance with respect to the cutting edge of the cutter. Then upon performing the splitting operation, the thin, grain split will pass upwardly over the upper jaw plate 38 while the remaining thicker portion of the piece of work will pass below the cutter and jaw plate 36.

For preventing a split from the upper surface of a piece of work, such as a grain split.

from a hide or skin, from adhering to the gage roll 12, there is provided, in the illustrated machine, a pipe 40 for carrying water under pressure, perforations being provided in the pipe 40 in a position to direct jets of water tangentially upon the surface of the gage roll 12 so as to strip the grain split from the gage roll and prevent it from adhering thereto, the water acting both by its weight, by its non-adhesive quality, and by the force of the jets striking the upper surface of the grain split. In this way the grain split is caused to rest on the upper surfaces of the guide member 34 and the jaw plate 38. It moves along these surfaces progressively with the continued feeding and cutting of the work. As soon as any portion of the grain split can be readily reached by the operator, it is seized and drawn forward over the jaw plate 38 while the body of the hide or skin passes down over the ring jaw plate 22. A second perforated pipe 42 is also provided for spraying water upon the adjacent surface of the gage roll 12, since the weight of the non-adhesive liquid coming down over the surface of the gage roll will getting into the space assist in preventing the grainsplit from adhering to the surface ofthe roll.

In case it is desired to take off a thin split from the under surface of a hide, skin or other piece of leather, means is provided for projecting jets of water in a direction tangential to the upper cylindrical surface of the ring roll 14 so as to lift the split from the ring roll and float itaway therefrom, thus preventing the split fromfollowing the turning movement of the rin members 16 and between the ring members and the ring jaw plate 22. Hence during the progressive severing of the thin split from the lower surface of the piece of work, the split is floated down over the surface of the plate 22. In Figs. 1 and 2, the ring jaw plate 22 is shown provided with a passage 50 for water supplied to the passage by pipes in a well known manner. The upper wall of this passage 50 is provided with openings 52 so located as to direct jets of water in a direction tangential to the ring roll 14. Instead of the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, it may be preferred to provide the ring jaw plate 22 with a groove 60, as shown in Fig. 3, either cast in the plate or subsequently milled, out, and then to place in this groove a perforated pipe 62 having closely spaced perforations positioned to project jets of water tangentially to the ring roll 14.

Since, as shown in Fig. 1, both the gage roll 12 and the ring roll 14 have water pipes or other water projecting means associated therewith so that a very thin split may be taken from either the upper or the lowersurface ofa given piece of work, propervalves and shutolfs (not shown) are provided in the supply pipes so that water may be supplied to the water passage 50 in thering jaw plate 22 when it is desired to take off a split from the lower surface of the work, the water supply being shut off during this time from the upper pipes 40 and 42. On the other hand, when it is desired to take off a thin split from the upper surface of the work, water will be supplied to eitheror both of the pipes 40 and 42 while the water is shut off from the water supply'device in connection with the ring jaw plate 22.

It will be clear that the water supply pipes are so located that they may be used to fur nish in a most effective way, waterfor cleaning the gage roll, the ring roll and the cutter from accumulations of dirt, grease and particles of hide substance at the end of any working period.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for operating on hides,

skins, leather, and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool and means for feeding a pieceof Work to the cutting tool constructed and arranged to cause the cutting tool to cut a thin split from the work, and means for applying a non-adhesive layer of liquid to the feeding means to prevent the thin split from adhering to the feeding means.

2. In a machine for operating on hides, skins, leather, and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool and means comprising a feed roll for feeding a piece of work to the cutting tool constructed and arranged to cause the cutting tool to out a thin split from the work, and means for applying a non-adhesive layer of liquid to the feed roll to prevent the thin split from adhering to the feed roll.

3. In a machine for taking thin splits from hides, skins, leather, or other similar pieces of work, a cutter, and means comprising a feed roll for feeding a piece of workto the cutter constructed and arranged to cause the cutter to take a thin split-from the work, and means for applying a considerable quantity of non-adhesive liquid to the feed roll operative to strip the thin split from the feed roll.

4:. In a machine for taking thin splits from hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutter and means comprising feed rolls for feeding a piece of work to the out ter constructed and arranged to causethe cutter to take a thin split progressively from the work, and means for projecting a liquid against one of the feed rolls to strip the thin split therefrom progressively with the splitting operation. 1

5. In a machine for operating on hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool and means comprising a gage roll for feeding a piece of work to the cutting tool constructed and arranged to cause the cutting tool to cut a thin split from the work, and means for projecting a mass of liquid upon the gage roll to prevent the thin split from adhering to the gage roll.

6. In a machine for operating on hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool and means comprising a gage roll for feeding a piece of work to the cutting tool constructed and arranged to cause the cutting tool to cut a thin split from the work, and means for providing liquid to float the thin split from the gage roll.

7. In a machine for operating on hides,

skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool and means comprising feed rolls for feeding a piece of work to the cutting tool constructed and arrangedto cause the cutting tool to cut a thin grain split from a piece of hide, skin or leather,and means for directing fluid under pressure in a direction tangential to the cylindrical surface of one of the'feed rolls to prevent the thin grain split from adhering thereto.

8. In a splitting machine, a cutter and means comprising a gage roll and a ring roll for feeding a piece of work to the cutter constructed and arranged to cause the cutter to cut a thin grain split from a piece of work, and means for directing fluid under pressure against and in a direction tangential to the cylindrical surface of the gage roll to prevent the thin grain split from adhering thereto.

9. In a machine for operating on hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool, means for feeding a piece of work to the cutting tool, and means for directing a non-adhesive liquid under pressure against the feeding means to prevent a portion of the work from adhering thereto.

10. In a machine for operating on hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool, means for feeding a piece of work for the operation of the cutting tool, and means for directing a non-adhesive liquid under pressure against a portion of the workto prevent it adhering to the work feedmg means.

11. In a machine for operating on hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool, means comprising a feed roll for feeding a piece of work to the cutting tool, and means for directing a non-adhesive liquid under pressure against a cylindrical surface of the feed roll to prevent a portion of the work from adhering to the feed roll.

12. In a machine for operating on hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool, means for feeding a piece of work for the operation of the cutting tool, said means comprising a feed roll, and means for directing fluid under pressure in a direction tangential to the cylindrical surface of the feed roll and against a portion of the work to prevent the latter from adhering to the feed roll.

13. In a machine for operating on hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool, means comprising feed rolls for feeding a piece of work to the cutting tool, and means for direction a nonadhesive liquid under pressure into the angle between a portion of the work and the cylindrical surface of one of the feed rolls to float the work away therefrom.

14. In a machine for operating on hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutting tool, means comprising feed rolls for feeding a piece of work to the cutting tool, and means for directing liquid under pressure in a direction tangential to the cylindrical surface of one of the feed rolls.

15. In a splitting machine, a cutter, means comprising a plurality of feed rolls for feeding a piece of work to the cutter, and means for directing liquid under pressure in a direction tangential to that portion of the cylindrical surface of one of the feed rolls which faces toward the cutter.

16. In a splitting machine, a cutter, means comprising a gage roll and. aring roll for feeding a piece of work to the cutter, and means for directing liquid under pressure against and in a direction tangential to a portion of the cylindrical surface of one of said rolls which portion is adjacent to the cutter.

17. In a splitting machine, a cutting tool, means for feeding a piece of work to a cutting tool, and means for spraying water in a plurality of jets against the feeding means to prevent a portion of the work from adhering thereto.

18. In a splitting machine, a cutter, means for feeding a piece of work to the cutter comprising feed rolls, and means for spraying water in a plurality of jets against a portion of the cylindrical surface of one of the feed rolls.

19. In a splitting machine, a cutter, means for feeding a piece of work to the cutter comprising feed rolls, and means comprising a perforated pipe for spraying water in a plurality of jets along a portion of the cylindrical surface of one of the feed rolls adjacent to the cutter.

20. In a splitting machine, a cutter, means for feeding a piece of work to the cutter comprising feed rolls, and means comprising a perforated pipe for spraying water in a multiplicity of jets along a portion of the cylindrical surface of one of the feed rolls adjacent to the cutter, said jets being directed tangentially to the said cylindrical surface.

21. In a splitting machine, a cutter, means for feeding a piece of work to the cutter comprising a gage roll and a ring roll, and a perforated pipe for carrying water under pressure, said pipe having a plurality of close- 1y spaced perforations for directing jets of water against and tangentially to a portion of the cylindrical surface of the gage roll adjacent to the cutter.

22. In a machine for operating upon hides. skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a cutter, means comprising feed rolls for feeding apiece of work to the cutter, and a plurality of pipes for carrying Water under pressure, said pipes being located adjacent to the feed rolls and having perforations for directing jets of water tangentially to cylindrical surfaces of the feed rolls.

23. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, an endless band cutter, means for feeding a piece of Work to the cutter comprising upper and lower feed rolls, and means comprising a perforated pipe for directing water under pressure in a multiplicity of jets against and in a direction tangential to a por tion of the cylindrical surface of one of the feed rolls.

- 24. In a machine for taking thin splits from hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, an endless band cutter and means comprising upper and. lower feed rolls for feeding a piece of Work to the cutter constructed and arranged to cause the cutter to take a thin split from the Work, and means comprising a perforated pipe for directing Water under pressure in a multiplicity of jets against and in a direction tangential to a portion of the cylindrical surface of one of the feed rolls to strip the thin splitfrom that feed r011.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

MAURICE LIRON. 

